One of our brewing partners wished to brew something similar to Stella. A lighter beer than the Czech Pils he has on tap now.
Would 2272 PC be a good choice? We are not looking to brew a “Bud” clone, but a nice afternoon easy drinking lager.
I see they call Stella the “Belgian Bud”.
You could really make that type of beer with any yeast including 34/70, etc. If you would like your lighter beer to have ‘less-character’ than your Czech beer, I would suggest using something like S-189. It will ferment clean and it will not leave as much yeast character in the final beer. Use a malt with less character as well (Rahr pilsner, Briess, maybe Swaen from Holland) along with a decent percentage of corn. Use the proper water (soft, calcium to about 40ppm, a small amount of sulfate is okay but don’t go above about 25ppm or so) and then use one hop addition (something clean… Magnum, Hallertau, etc) at the start of the boil to get to somewhere around 18-20 IBUs. The S-189 is very clean and has less personality than 34/70 does and all of that sounds a bit like Stella to me. When I drink a Stella it seems very fizzy, very bland and flavorless. I’m not opposed to it but I rarely drink it. Also, I’m not saying S-189 is the PERFECT choice but I think it’s a good choice.
Thanks for the info. As we have a fresh (very fresh) slurry of 34/70, we may opt to use that. It does have more “character”, but it is Ok. I have Stella on tap in my bar. Not a big fan either. But it is a drinkable brew.
Drinkable, yes. I make a lot of pale lagers that run the range from Munich Helles to “Caribbean Beer”. In the case of something more refreshing for warmer weather, I generally don’t sweat the yeast strain. The grist should be simple and straightforward. The hops should be somewhat restrained especially compared to what most homebrewers use. I am using 940 right now (Mexican Lager yeast) and plan to make a bunch of pale, refreshing lagers for the summer. 34/70 is a good choice.
I have often heard it said that the choice of lager yeast makes less difference than the choice of ale yeast, meaning that lager yeast have a lot of the same characteristics. My experience seems to bear that out.
+1. I have a rotation of Pale Ales, light colored Lagers, and Golden Ales planned for the rest of Spring/Summer/Autumn. The yeast will either be 34/70 or Bry97 in each with the hops providing the flavor variety. I’m especially looking forward to the one with Veteran’s Blend for Memorial Day.
Just used some Veteran’s Blend for my last brew. What a great hop combo!
You could certainly choose your character… 2308 or 838 have a more German character (not surprising) where 2124 seems a little more bright and refreshing to me. You have so many choices and they will all bring different things to the table. I was in Costa Rica where someone told me to try Imperial, the official beer of the country (it seems) and on my first night I tried one and it was pretty boring. Bland, tasteless, etc. The next day I found a beer called Pilsen and I would bet my butt it was made with 2124 or an offshoot of 2124. I said to my wife, “Order the Pilsen, it’s better” and she ordered one and took a sip… “Oh yeah, much better!”. We all have our preferences I suppose.
Yes, I’m not saying there is no difference. But there are fewer differences between lager yeasts than ale yeasts IMO.
Sounds reasonable especially if you throw all those wacky Belgian strains in there. :o